1981 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1981.

Newly formed bands

• Anthrax
• Beowülf
• Black 'n Blue
• Chateaux
• Dark Angel
• Easy Action
• Icon
• Jag Panzer
• Kerber
• Killer Dwarfs
• Leatherwolf
• Leviticus
• Loudness
• Mercyful Fate
• Metallica
• Mötley Crüe
• Napalm Death
• Pantera
• Pretty Maids
• Queensrÿche
• Rough Cutt
• Saber Tiger
• Savage Grace
• Skitzo
• Slayer
• Sodom
• Sortilège
• Stampede
• Steeler
• Suicidal Tendencies
• Tesla
• Tobruk
• Tytan
• Vandenberg
• Virgin Steele
• Vulcain
• Wild Dogs

Albums & EPs

• AC/DC – For Those About to Rock We Salute You
• Accept – Breaker
• The Angels aka Angel City – Night Attack
• Anvil – Hard 'N' Heavy
• April Wine – The Nature of the Beast
• August Redmoon – Fools Are Never Alone EP
• Barón Rojo – Larga vida al Rock and Roll
• Pat Benatar – Precious Time
• Blackfoot – Marauder
• Black Sabbath – Mob Rules
• Blue Öyster Cult – Fire of Unknown Origin
• Budgie – Nightflight
• Bodine – Bodine
• Graham Bonnet – Line Up
• Alice Cooper – Special Forces
• Dark Star – Dark Star
• Def Leppard – High 'n' Dry
• Demon – Night of the Demon
• Doc Holliday – Doc Holliday; Doc Holliday Rides Again
• E.F. Band – Last Laugh Is On You
• Electric Sun – Fire Wind
• Fargo – Frontpage Lover
• Fist (Can) – Fleet Street, aka Thunder in Rock United
• Gaskin – End of the World
• Gillan – Future Shock; Double Trouble
• Girlschool – Hit and Run
• Sammy Hagar – Standing Hampton
• The Handsome Beasts – Beastiality
• Hanoi Rocks – Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks
• Heavy Metal – OST
• Heavy Load – Metal Conquest EP
• Helix – White Lace & Black Leather
• Holocaust – The Nightcomers
• Iron Maiden – Killers and Maiden Japan EP
• Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
• Judas Priest – Point of Entry
• Killer – Ladykiller
• Kiss – Music from "The Elder"
• Kix – Kix
• Krokus – Hardware
• Legend – Legend
• Lips – Hard 'n Heavy
• Loudness – The Birthday Eve
• Frank Marino – The Power of Rock'n'Roll
• Molly Hatchet – Take No Prisoners

• More – Warhead
• Mother's Finest – Iron Age
• Mötley Crüe – Too Fast for Love
• Motörhead – No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
• Motörhead & Girlschool – St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP
• No Bros – Heavy Metal Party
• Ted Nugent – Intensities in 10 Cities
• Obus – Prepárate
• Ocean – Ocean
• Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
• Overdrive (Swe) – Reflexions EP
• Picture – Picture; Heavy Metal Ears
• Plasmatics – Beyond the Valley of 1984; Metal Priestess
• Praying Mantis – Time Tells No Lies
• Queen – Flash Gordon
• Rainbow – Difficult to Cure
• Raven – Rock Until You Drop
• Reckless – Reckless
• Revolver – First Shot
• Riot – Fire Down Under
• The Rods – The Rods
• Rose Tattoo – Assault & Battery
• Rush – Moving Pictures
• Samson – Shock Tactics
• Santers – Shot Down In Flames
• Saxon – Denim and Leather
• Michael Schenker Group – MSG
• 707 – The Second Album
• Billy Squier – Don't Say No
• Starfighters – Starfighters
• Taipan – Taipan EP
• Thin Lizzy – Renegade
• 38 Special – Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
• Triumph – Allied Forces
• Trust – Marche Ou Crève
• Tygers Of Pan Tang – Spellbound; Crazy Nights
• UFO – The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent
• Van Halen – Fair Warning
• Vardis – The World's Gone Insane
• Venom – Welcome to Hell
• Vic Vergat – Down to the Bone
• Warning – Warning
• Wild Horses – Stand Your Ground
• Whitesnake – Come an' Get It
• Y&T – Earthshaker

Events

• April: AC/DC's album "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" is finally released in the United States.
• September: Iron Maiden's lead singer Paul Di'Anno leaves band due to heavy drinking, and is replaced by Bruce Dickinson.
• Eric Carr joins Kiss on drums and makes his songwriting debut with "Under the Rose".

Preceded by 1980

Heavy Metal Timeline 1981

Succeeded by 1982